Stage 3 of the Circuit de la Sarthe-Pays de la Loire has been a learning experience for Luke Durbridge (GreenEdge) who fought hard to get back onto the front group with 3km to go and keep the overall lead on the day that Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) was seen back in action in the hills.

Related Articles

Stage winner Francisco Ventoso of Movistar found more motivation for GC on the eve of the last stage from Le Mans to Sablé as he realized with the winner's time bonus that he's only 14 seconds down on the Australian prodigy in sixth place overall.

"I had been told by my directeur sportif Yvon Ledanois that it would come down to a sprint of 20 to 30 riders," Ventoso said after the finish. "That's why our team has worked so hard behind the breakaways."

For most of the stage, two Frenchmen ruled the road: Romain Mathéou (Vérandas Rideau-U) and Jonathan Thiré (Auber 93). As their advantage was stabilized around six minutes after 100 kilometres of racing, two teams were prominent at the head of the peloton: Movistar and GreenEdge. But the Australian outfit, however, was represented by one rider only: Peter Weening. The Dutchman is riding for the first time this year after suffering a knee injury, which is also the case of Durbridge now.

"Peter did 120km on the front solo, then Daniel [Teklehaimanot] helped me around the circuit," Durbridge told Cyclingnews. "When the team does such a special job, you want to repay them. I felt a pretty sore knee leading to the circuit and I told Peter ‘I'm finished'. He made me hold on as long as I could."

Durbridge knew that the summit of western France, the Mont des Avaloirs that culminates at 416 metres above sea level, was to be a deciding factor of the race with the climbers motivated in the steep, 10 percent ramp to be done five times. With 13km to go Andy Schleck put the hammer down which split the peloton in two.

"Every time on the climb, I thought ‘next lap I'm done' but it was just another five minutes of suffering to go," Durbridge said. "Ten of us got dropped in the last lap but we got back on with 3km to go. I've suffered like a dog but I'm still in the lead."

Russian champion Pavel Brutt (Katusha) and American prospect Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Barracuda) were the last two riders to get caught by the front group.

Ventoso admitted that it was an easy sprint for him, as he beat out Jure Kocjan (Team Type 1-Sanofi) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), but it came after a lot suffering as well. "Without the help of Ruben Plaza, I wouldn't have stayed in that group," said Ventoso. "In the finale, I jumped on the wheel of Thomas Voeckler who had anticipated the sprint and I managed to pass him and win. Since the Tour of Qatar, I felt strong but I was missing the feeling of being brilliant. With the time bonus I got today, I can eye the overall victory tomorrow."

GreenEdge is reduced to only three riders, including the race leader, but Movistar will be motivated for taking care of the chase on the final day.